I also used to go to Anime Expo, a convention so nerdy it makes Comic-Con look like a GOP bake sale by comparison. Part of that whole geek world is costume-playing, or cosplaying, where, in short, people dress up to make absolute fools of themselves and earn the respect of other virgins, I mean, their peers.

Some of the costumes are awesome, some are terrible. Most of the cosplayers aren't used to physical exertion nor do they take exotic supplements like sunlight, so viewers are expected to have a healthy sense of suspended disbelief. What looks really awesome on paper does not always translate well to flesh and bone and styrofoam.

That being said, it was sometimes hard trying to do cosplay as an Asian American. A dearth of Asian American comic book and heroes meant that if really wanted to "look the part", you had the option of being either Sulu from Star Trek or Ming the Merciless. The one time I cosplayed, I was one of the Crazy 88. That's right I had to be a damn henchman!

If you don't believe me, think about if you saw two guys dressed
as Superman. One guy is white with that little spit curl and
everything, and the other is an Asian guy. All things being equal,
you'd be hard pressed to say that latter made a more convincing
Superman.

You'd think we'd fare better in anime conventions but this isn't always so, since many anime characters are written as being "American" (white) or at the very least are drawn with very non-Asian features.

I hope this changes soon, and indeed there are gradually more and more Asian American comic book/sci-fi/geek characters entering the Nerdosphere. In the mean time, I've got to get my Fu Manchu ready for the next con.